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Top 10 leaders in the European Golden Shoe race

European Golden Shoe
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With the 2021/22 season over, here are the final top 10 rankings for the European Golden Shoe race.

Robert Lewandowski has won the 2021/22 European Golden Shoe.

The Bayern Munich frontman has claimed back-to-back awards, having scored a brilliant 35 goals in only 34 Bundesliga games. The Pole has seen off some pretty stiff competition to emerge as Europe’s top marksmen yet again.

The European Sports Media determines the outcome based on a player’s goal numbers and the strength of his league (e.g. goals scored * league strength = total points).

LeagueCoefficient ranking
Premier League2
La Liga2
Serie A2
German Bundesliga2
Ligue 12
Austrian Bundesliga1.5
Swiss Super League1.5

So here Ace Football checks out the 10 leaders for this season’s Golden Shoe using only players from a top-five European league.

10. Erling Haaland (B. Dortmund) – 44 points

Had it not been for a hip flexor injury between October and November, Erling Haaland would be higher up on the European Golden Shoe rankings.

Nevertheless, the 21-year-old continues to hammer in the goals at an alarming rate for Borussia Dortmund. Haaland hasn’t won the European Golden Shoe this season, but he is surely one to keep an eye on at Manchester City in the Premier League next term.

9. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 46 points

While many fans have questioned his seventh-place finish in the Ballon d’Or, Mohamed Salah has done his talking on the pitch instead.

The Egyptian forward has won the Premier League’s Golden Boot and Playmaker awards to help Liverpool finish second. But as Salah was away at AFCON earlier in the year, he has naturally lost a bit of ground in the European Golden Shoe race.

8. Heung-Min Son (Tottenham) – 46 points

The South Korea international continued his productive partnership with Harry Kane to fire Tottenham back into the Premier League top-four.

In doing so, Son won the Premier League’s Golden Boot for the first time in his career alongside Liverpool star Mohamed Salah.

7. Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus) – 48 points

The 22-year-old is probably the most-talked-about striker at the moment in terms of transfer gossip and his many goals.

A peek at his stats explains why so many top European clubs are said to be interested. In only 36 games, Dusan Vlahovic has scored 24 goals and chipped in three assists this season. The Serbian’s efforts helped Fiorentina become top-six challengers in the Serie A standings, and now he is strutting his stuff at Juventus after a €70 million transfer in January.

6. Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen) – 48 points

The Czech Republic international has carried over his brilliant Euro 2020 form to the Bundesliga this term.

Patrik Schick has already bettered last season’s tally of nine goals by finding the back of the net 24 times for Bayer Leverkusen. A muscle injury, however, forced him to spend time on the sidelines between February and April. Nevertheless, he is back now and finished the campaign amongst the goals once more.

5. Wissam Ben Yedder (AS Monaco) – 50 points

The Monaco captain was consistently among the highest-placed players in the European Golden Shoe rankings this season.

Wissam Ben Yedder’s prolific performances have helped Monaco finish third in Ligue 1 after a tight top-four race that included the likes of Strasbourg, Rennes, Montpellier, Lens, Nantes, Lille, and Lyon over the course of the campaign.

4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 54 points

The Frenchman has been the full package for Real Madrid by sitting amongst the leaders in La Liga’s goal and assist charts this season.

Karim Benzema’s impact was impossible to ignore. Real Madrid won La Liga again, and he also played a big part in the club’s run to the Champions League final. A quick look at his stats says it all. His 27 goals and 12 assists make up 49% of the club’s 80 league goals alone.

3. Ciro Immobile (Lazio) – 54 points

After a somewhat below-par campaign by his high standards last term, Ciro Immobile was back to his very best for Lazio in 2021/22.

The Italian attacker scored 27 goals in only 31 appearances this season to top the Serie A goal charts and sit second in the European Golden Shoe race. He couldn’t quite beat Robert Lewandowski, but it’s been a superb campaign all the same.

2. Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – 56 points

Despite Lionel Messi’s arrival, Kylian Mbappe remained Paris Saint-Germain’s go-to guy over the course of the campaign and reached double figures.

The 23-year-old striker has won a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 Golden Boot award, secured his highest finish in the European Golden Shoe, and celebrated his new lucrative contract by scoring a hat-trick in PSG’s final game of the season.

1. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – 70 points

The reigning European Golden Shoe titleholder has sealed a second award in as many seasons.

Despite a change in the Bayern Munich dugout, Robert Lewandowski remained as formidable as ever. The Pole scored a brilliant 35 goals in only 34 games to help Julian Nagelsmann’s side win a 10th consecutive Bundesliga title.

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